I was asked by a Greek Orthodox presbytera recently, "What do you think of the writings of Fr. Seraphim Rose?" This was my response…Dear Presbytera,
I do not promote Fr Seraphim Rose because he represents a very rigorous form of Orthodoxy that is also committed to excessive speculation, especially about the afterlife. His ideas fuel a kind of Orthodox elitism which causes people to look down on others as being not truly Orthodox.
Fr Seraphim's ideas also are taken up by those who feel they must live as radically Orthodox as possible, and startle the world with their extreme expressions of otherworldliness.
For me, the heart of Orthodoxy is Christ, and the life in Christ is the Orthodox way, following behind the Master, doing what we see Him doing, saying what He says.
Fr Seraphim, I fear, is a kind of inversion of the Orthodoxy which believes that the love of God and His mercy and longsuffering towards us are infinite, and which seeks to save all who are lost.
The way of Fr Seraphim is to save the few who can shoulder the heavy yoke of his gnosticism. But Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
(Matthew 11:29 ESV)
In Christ, your brother
Romanós
(Matthew 11:29 ESV)
In Christ, your brother
Romanós
Postscript for this blog…
I said “I do not promote” Fr Seraphim Rose, and neither do I condemn him. Whether his ideas are false or true, our good and loving God knows, who holds us all tenderly and forgivingly in His hands. As for the man, I hope he is what all who follow Christ are.
I own a copy of the book exampled above and have read it cover to cover, along with other books by Fr Seraphim.
I just don't endorse them.
I just don't endorse them.
9 comments:
I, brother, have the same view on Fr Seraphim, so I try not to post any of his writings on my blog. But I know that many people do revere him greatly and respect them for that...
He is revered very much here in Greece. The last time my husband and brother visited the Holy Mountain various fathers, on realizing that they were from North America, rushed to ask whether they knew of Fr. Seraphim and then proceeded to tell them different miracles he has done both on and off the Holy Mountain.
I am simply not qualified to endorse any voice in Orthodoxy. Even if I think one or another is truly great, I know that their greatness exists within God manifest within them uniquely. Even the holiest of saints (save perhaps the Theotokos) cannot offer anyone the whole of the Church; and if you could sit with the Mother of God how many lifetimes would she need to share all its splendor?
Fr Seraphim Rose was stone in the building not to be confused with the building. For me, he was a stone which helped hold up the lintel of the doorway through which I walked into the Nave.
So was St Nikolai (Velimirovich), Fr Stephen Freeman, so many others I am ashamed that I cannot name them, even some crazy fellow up in Oregon who loved me before I wrote poetry (and continued in loving toleration after that!).
I must say that I find this assessment of Fr. Seraphim Rose of Platina to be somewhat off of the mark. While I respect and revere the man a great deal, I do agree that much of his writing regarding the afterlife and so forth is speculative and perhaps not very helpful to the majority of Christians. I do take issue with the notion that Fr. Seraphim "inverts Orthodoxy". This is definitely not the case! In fact, I would say that he represents the true, ascetic, Patristic Orthodoxy to a spoiled and frankly lazy and pampered North American society. Does this cause elitism? Fanaticism? In some cases, sadly it does. However, if we don't have any converts who are raising the bar and showing other converts and potential converts how to die to themselves and how to follow the narrow path, then what do we have? More watered down Christianity that attempts to coddle and comfort but which excludes the Cross? Fr. Seraphim Rose, in his biography, is noted and quoted several times for advocating humility and down-to-earth practicality, service, patience in suffering, and realism. He constantly discourages elitism, ultra-correctness, and an Orthodoxy that is "in the clouds" and not right down here in our real lives looking a sometimes painful reality in the face. While he has probably been a catalyst for some fanaticism and elitism in the Church, he has also done much more good: compelled many Orthodox Christians to take their faith and their struggle more seriously, and inspired many would-be converts and seekers to embrace the Orthodox Christian faith. I was one such seeker.
I am currently a Byzantine Catholic who has fallen in love with Fr. Seraphim Rose's writings, especially the one mentioned on this site. I highly recommend his books-challenging Orthodox truths.
One of my on-line correspondents is a priest-monk of ROCOR who disagrees with Fr. Seraphim on the toll houses (he himself rejects this teaching), but wants to see him glorified.
I met the last man Fr. Seraphim baptized. I also know that on his deathbed, he prepared his hospital roommate for baptism in Orthodoxy. That takes someone special.
As St. Paul himself said, "Now we propecy in part."
I read Fr. Seraphim with a cautious eye. Frankly, his writings seem to bring out everyone's inner Protestant! We are all in danger of trying to turn the Holy, Orthodox Church into what we would like it to be, what makes us nice and comfortable. We should not allow ourselves to do that.
'everyone's inner Protestant'… I like that! As a phrase it says more (to me) than a more detailed explanation of what it means would. The 'inner Protestant' seems to be the yearning for a righteousness and orthodoxy among men that simply is impossible to achieve by anything we can directly do, coupled with an urgency, a deeply felt need to push time faster so that the end can come and quickly resolve all our issues, that again, simply frustrates us, even while it dazzles us momentarily, until we finally see it for what it is—simply the old man in us yearning to die, so the new man can be born.
Luke 7 31-35. I love this passage - "31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Let's not be children of this generation, but children of the eternal God. There is no saint living or passed on who did not sin. But each was given his or her commission from God who ordains all things for his children.
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